Linda Dykstra, Ph.D. is the William Rand Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Pharmacology and the Curriculum in Neurobiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also Dean of the Graduate School. Dr. Dykstra received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and her B.A. from Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
Dr. Dykstra joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1973, where she has led an active research program for over 30 years. Her research focuses on the behavioral pharmacology of opioid analgesics, both in relation to their pain-relieving properties as well as their tendency to produce tolerance and dependence. A more recent research interest of her laboratory is the investigation of behavioral phenotypes related to substance abuse using genetically-altered mice. She has received continuous support for her research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse since 1977 and has been recognized with a Research Career Development Award, a Research Scientist Award and a MERIT award for her research contributions. Dr. Dykstra has been the major research advisor for a large number of predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows and has directed a NIDA-supported training program in research related to drug abuse for the last 16 years. Dr. Dykstra also directs an NIGMS Bridge program that is designed to encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue doctoral training in the biomedical sciences. In 2005, she received the Mentorship Award from CPDD and the Mary Turner Lane award from the University of North Carolina for her initiatives in support of graduate education. In 2006, she received the Fischman Lectureship Award, also from CPDD.
Dr. Dykstra has held several professional leadership positions, including being president of the Psychopharmacology Division of the American Psychological Association and of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. She is an elected member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and recently served as chair of the Behavioral Pharmacology Division of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. In the coming year, she will serve as Chair of the North Carolina Association of Biomedical Research and as President of the Association of Graduate Schools, which is part of the American Association of Universities.
